Description: For sale is a beautiful, completely untouched late-Victorian/Edwardian framed plaster low-relief plaque depicting "The Ages of Love" (Kærlighedens aldre), originally modeled in Rome in 1824 by the celebrated Danish neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.
This classic Grand Tour style piece features wonderful, deep casting details showing figures and winged cherubs representing the stages of love throughout human life. The plaque is housed in its original dark stained wood frame under period glass.
Fascinating Provenance & Social History: What makes this specific piece incredibly unique is the beautifully preserved, handwritten historical backing paper on the reverse. Written in an elegant late-Victorian/Edwardian script, the note transcribes a famous piece of 19th-century art lore:
The Ages of Love. 1824. Bertel Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen on 19th Nov. 1770. The Ages of Love so delighted the Pope, when visiting the sculptor's studio, & so absorbed him in contemplation, that he forgot to bestow on the master 'the customary apostolical benediction'."